Purist World Events 2014
January *Latvia adopts the Euro as its currency and becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone. February *The 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak begins, infecting 844 people and killing at least 518 people, the most severe both in terms of numbers of infections and casualties. **Rhodesia closes its borders to passports from or that have passed through Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The African Union agrees to send medical aide to the affected countries. *The XXII Olympic Winter Games are held in Sochi, Russia. *Belgium becomes the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia for terminally ill patients of any age. *The {Ukrainian parliament votes to remove President Viktor Yanukovych from office, replacing him with Oleksandr Turchynov, after days of civil unrest left around 100 people dead in Kiev. *The pro-Russian conflict in the Ukraine leads to the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and an insurgency in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. March *Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, severs diplomatic and political ties with Panama, accusing Panama of being involved in a conspiracy against the Venezuelan government. *Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 airliner en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, disappears over the Gulf of Thailand with 239 people on board. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean. *A referendum on the status of Crimea is held. *Russia formally annexes Crimea after President Vladimir Putin signed a bill finalizing the annexation process. *During an emergency meeting, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, and Canada temporarily suspend Russia from the G8. *The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 68/262, recognizing Crimea within Ukraine’s international borders and rejecting the validity of the 2014 Crimean referendum. *The United Nations International Court of Justice rules that Japan's Antarctic whaling program is not scientific but commercial and forbids grants of further permits. April *In response to the 2014 Crimean crisis, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passes a resolution to temporarily strip Russia of its voting rights; its rights to be represented in the Bureau of the Assembly, the PACE Presidential Committee, and the PACE Standing Committee; and its right to participate in election-observation missions. *The Catholic Church canonizes Popes John XXIII and John Paul II on Divine Mercy Sunday. *United States President Barack Obama's new economic sanctions against Russia go into effect, targeting companies and individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. May *The Royal Thai Army overthrows the caretaker government of Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan after a failure to resolve the political unrest in Thailand. June *A Sunni militant group called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (also known as the ISIS or ISIL) begins an offensive through northern Iraq, aiming to capture the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad and overthrow the Shiite government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. *The 2014 FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil. *King Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicates in favor of his son, who ascends the Spanish throne as King Felipe VI. July *Germany defeats Argentina with a score of 1-0 to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup. *Unemployment within the United Commonwealth has risen by nearly 0.4%, a spike from the once thought stable two percent. Ulysses Breckenridge, Secretary of the State has already begun assigning population quotas for the next year, nearly halving the the allowed pregnancy rate for the state. Immigration has also been halted; and emigration is fully supported for those whom find the state distasteful. *The Westlandic Interior Ministry has released a statement revealing the sentence for radical Christian preacher Mikail Overd from Täntunn, who has been found guilty of breaking public order offences and the offence of preaching hate and intolerance towards the LGBT community. Overd, who was captured via video showing him overtly criticising and shouting 'hate' a same-sex couple as they walked past him in Täntunn Main Street. The video was posted on social media and several complaints were made to the Sommersätt Rikaspolisi about the preacher. He was arrested at the end of June and has today been sentenced to 4 years in prison. *Malaysia Airlines Flight NH-17 crashes in eastern Ukraine with all 295 persons on the aircraft killed. The plane is believed to have been shot down. **National memorial services have been held for the three Westlandic citizens killed in the crash of the NH-17 yesterday in Ukraine. The period of national mourning is in force until Sunday. *Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a ground offensive in Gaza. **The United Commonwealth's National Ministry of Health has deployed 15 surgeons to Gaza and Israel in hopes that the states well renowned physicians will be able to help in aiding civilians severely mangled during the invasion. Victoria Edwardson released that she supports the actions of and hopes to see the dismantling of Hamas. **The Westlandic Chancellor has denouned the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, stating that an invasion of the Palestinian territory will make a large step in the wrong direction regarding the peace process. *The United States releases evidence which declares that the missile which shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight NH-17 originated from rebel-held territory. In finding this evidence, it becomes clear that the Russian Federation was responsible for the provision of armaments to rebel forces in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution. The United Nations Secretariat releases a statement which condemns the actions of Russia, urging fellow international organizations and foreign nations to do the same. **The Southern African Union, in a joint declaration headed by South Africa and Rhodesia, condemns the Russian Federation and seizes all Russian assets within the territory of the Southern African Union member states. All Russian nationals within the Union are to be rounded up and deported back to their home country. Furthermore, the Union declares an embargo on all products originating from the Russian Federation, closes its airspace to Russian flights, and expels all seafaring vessels with a Russian port-of-call or crew. Diplomatic ties with Russia are severed, and the embassies and consulates which represent Russia within Southern Africa are forcibly closed with their staffs deported. The Rhodesian Prime Minister is quoted with saying "We find it disgusting that Russia so fervently embarks on a quest to reestablish a forgotten empire in the name of the Russian people. It has become evident that Valdimir Putin is nothing more than an autocrat, no better than Hitler or Caligula, and that his efforts to violently oppress the will of sovereign nations are offensive to the ideas which our democratic organization promotes." **Secretary of State Ulysses Breckenridge, controlling the states trade, and internal affairs has followed suit with the Southern African Union in condemning Russia through economic sanctions. Victoria Edwardson, a supporter of the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin, controlling the political workings of the Senate and representing the peoples voice; yet most polls inside of New Zealand and Australia disagree with what the Russians are doing, will face internal conflict with Breckenridge and will most likely won't see government ministries following her orders on the issue. **In reponse to recent developments, the Westlandic Foreign Ministry has announced it is to closev Westland's borders to passports originating from Russia and Israel. Due to activities that the Foreign Ministry deems barbaric and horrific atrocities in conflict, Westland has also severed diplomatic ties with Russia and Israel for the forseeble future, closing the Westlandic embassy in Moscow and ejecting the Russian Embassy in Brikksto. *The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 2166 in response to the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. *Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashes in Mali, killing all 116 people on board. **The African Union, along with the support of France, states that the flight found its fate through weather related issues. *Arrests have been made when Rikaspolisi rauded a home over a series of racist tweets made by two Westlandic users on the site, between October of last year and July of this year. The couple, who are from Vikunö, have been charged with Intolerance by the Criminal Court earlier today and have been sentenced to 3 years in a Reeducation Institute. *After reports emerge about the spread of the Ebola virus throughout West Africa, Rhodesia declares that any Rhodesians or foreign nationals who have entered the country while spending any time in the infected West African states must face a quarantine and check up before they are permitted to enter into the country. Hospitals in border counties and localities have also been put onto high alert and a ready status to fight any attempts of the deadly virus to spread into Rhodesia. Rhodesia urges fellow Southern African Union member states to do the same. September *Secretary Ulysses Breckenridge lead discussion between the government in the Central Committee in providing action against ISIS. Prime Minister Edwardson was in the forefront in the opposition against sending troops or launching aerial attacks and has declared that the Ministry of Foreign Relations will only seek a peaceful outlook in the Middle East. Two hours after the Central Committee was dismissed, 450 million dollars had been given to the Kurdish Regional Government, Edwardson has already begun internal investigations on the suspected invalid transfer of money. Category:Purist World Category:Events